Device for sharpening hollow surgical needles



Oct. 10, 1950 W. A. .MILNER ET AL DEVICE FOR SHARPENING HOLLOW SURGICAL NEEDLES Filed Sept. 26, 1946 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 W IU, 195@ W, A, MILNER ET AL 2,5252% DEVIC FOR SHARPENING HOLLOW SURGICAL NEEDLES Filed Sept. 26, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTONE'Y at, 10 N50 W. A. MILNER ET AL DEVICE FOR SHARPENING HOLLOW SURGICAL NEEDLES Filed Sept. 26, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Oct. 10, 1950 DEVICE FOR SHARPENING HOLLOW SURGICAL NEEDLES William A. Milner, Albany, and William 0.

Bennett, Delmar,-N: Ye

Application September 26, 1 946, SerialNo. 699,404

9 Claims. o1. 1 92 Our invention relates to rotary grinding or sharpening devices and particularly to a grinder for simultaneously sharpening a plurality of hollow surgical needles.

I-Iollow needles are used both for injecting fluids into various parts of the human body and also for withdrawing fluids from various parts thereof. Unless such needles are very' sharp, the tissues and veins which are necessarily penetrated thereby may be seriously damaged.

Needles as received from the manufacturer are sharp, but, when used frequently, as in hospitals and the like, soon become dull and, so far-as we are aware, there is at present no device available by means of which such needlescanbe satisfactorily sharpened by the hospital help which is more or less unskilled in this respect. For this reason, the annual cost of the needles used in an ordinary hospital is extremely high.

The principal object of our. invention is to provide a simple, substantially fool-proof device by means of which aplurality of hollow surgical needles may be simultaneously sharpened and hollow ground to provide keen cutting edges adjacent the points thereof. Another object is to provide a device of this character which may be readily adjusted to sharpen needles of substan tially any length. A further object is to provide, in connection with the foregoing, a means for sharpening spinal needles to a desired bevel or angle. 7

We accomplish these objects by means of the novel combinations and arrangements of elements described below and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which-;

Fig. 1 is a front elevation view of our device with certain portions broken away and certain portions in section;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of our device wit certain portions broken away;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation ofour device with a portion broken away; I

Fig. 4 is a section of Fig; 1 in the plane 4-4;

Fig. 5 is a section of Fig. 1 in the plane 5-5;

Fig. 6 is an elevation view of adetail;

Fig. '7 is a fragmentary plan view of .an attachment for sharpeningv spinal needles-to a de'- sired angle or bevel;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentaryside elevation view of said attachment;

Fig. 9 is a section View of Fig. '7 in: the plane 9-9; and y V Fig. 10 is a fragmentary, exploded, perspective view of an assembly detail. 7

Referring to the drawings, our'de'vic 'e com- 2 prises a base plate I which may conveniently be mounted on a box 2 containing an electrical motor 3. Secured to the top of the base by means of cap screws 4 are bearings 5 in which a cylindrical'a-brasive element 6, comprising an Arkansas stone, is "mounted to rotate; In view of the fact that large stones of this type are difficult or impossible to obtain the abrasive element may comprise separate stones secured together as shown. The shaft 1 on which the stone is mounted carries at one end a pulley 8 which is driven from a pulley 9 on the shaft of motor 3 by means of a belt Ill. The stone 6 should be absolutely cylindrical, and the shaft 1 precisely coaxial therewith and closely fitted in the bearings 5.

Cast integral with the base I are the spaced, upstanding lugs H and I2 in which is mounted the stationary shaft [3 by means of cap screws [4 extending through the lugs II and l2 and threaded into the extremities of the shaft, as

shown at l5 in Fig. l. Midwaybetween its ends the shaft is is provided with a short threaded portion It, the threads of which may be cut on a lathe.

Mounted to slide freely on the shaft [3 is a sleeve l! of a bracket I8. This bracket comprises a pair of upwardly extending, outwardly diverging legs l9 having bearings 20 and 21 secured thereto by means of screws 22 and 23 respectively.

Mounted to turn in these bearings with its axis parallel to the axis of the abrasive element '6 and to the axis of the shaft i3, is a bar 24 having a longitudinally extending slot 25 in the bottom thereof. The portions of the bar 24 which fit within the bearings 28 and 2| respectively, are of slightly lessdiameter than the portions of the bar between the bearings so that shoulders are provided on the bar 2 3 which bear against the ends of the bearings and prevent longitudinal movement of the bar 24 in said bearings. At the left hand, as viewed in Fig. 1, the bar 24 is provided with a threadedportion of reduced diameter to receive the knurled thumb screw 26 which, when tightened, bears against the bearing 2! to lock the bar 24 against rotation in its bearings.

0n the top, as viewed in Figs. 4 and 5, the bar 2-4 is flattened, as shown at 21, and holes 28, equi-spaced longitudinally of the bar 24 and which communicate with the top of the slot 25, are drilled and threaded to receive the frustoconical, needle-holding bosses 29.

The bosses 29 are provided with axial passages in which pins having heads 3| on the bottom thereof are mounted to move freely. Mounted to slide freely in the slot 25 of the bar 24 is a rod 32, preferably rectangular in cross section and which is secured within the bar 24 by two pins 33 and 34 extending through the inclined slots 35 and 36 respectively, in the rod 32 (see Fig. 1). Thus, when the rod 32, as viewed in Fig. 1, is moved to the left, it will rise upwardly on the pins 33 and 34 respectively and raise the pins 3|], as shown in dotted outline at 31 in Fig. 5. In order normally to maintain the rod 32 in the position shown in Fig. 1 and the pins 30 retracted within the needle holding bosses 29, small helical springs 38 are compressed between the top of the bar 32 and the bottoms of small recesses 39 in the bar 24, as shown in Fig. 1. In order to move the bar 32 to the left, as shown in Fig. 1, to raise the pins 36 out of the needle-holding bosses 29, we provide a finger lever 49 which is pivotally connected to the bar 24 and which cooperates with the right hand end of the rod 32', as viewed in Fig. 1, when pressed downwardly, to slide the rod 32 to the left and also to raise it by its co-action with the pins 33 and 34.

Hollow surgical needles are provided with bases 4| having tapered sockets therein adapted to fit firmly over the needle-holding bosses 29, as shown in Fig. 4. The exteriors of these bases are approximately square in cross section with one face thereof on the same side of the needle as the hollow ground point. In order accurately to position the needles on the bosses in proper position for grinding, we provide a guide bar 42 which is secured to the bar 24 by means of screws 43 with the face of the bar adjacent the bosses 29 in such spaced relation thereto that the needles cannot be pushed down firmly on the bosses unless the flat face of the needle base on the same side of the needle as the hollow ground point is positioned substantially parallel to the inside face of the guide bar 42.

In order to oscillate the needles in directions axially of the abrasive element 6 and also to regulate the pressure of the needles against the abrasive element, the sleeve I1 is provided with an outwardly projecting shelf-like member 44 to which is pivotally secured the hand lever 45 by means of a screw 46. The lever 45 is arcuate at its inner end and is provided with teeth 41 which cooperate with the threaded portions l6 of the shaft l3 to effect an oscillating movement of the entire needle-holding mechanism in directions parallel to the axis of the abrasive element 6 when the handle 45 is moved between the positions shown in dotted outline at 45' in Fig. 2. By lifting up on the handle 45, the pressure of the needles against the abrasive element may be increased.

By reason of the fact that the bar on which the needle-holding bosses are mounted may be turned axially in its bearings and the bearings themselves may be revolved about the axis of the shaft l3 the device may be readily adjusted to accommodate needles of various lengths and to hold them substantially tangent to the surface of the abrasive element. In order to facilitate this adjustment, the bearing 2|, which is, of course, held stationary with respect to the axis of the bar 24'is provided with a disc 48 which is graduated on the face thereof adjacent the abrasive element, as shown in Fig. 3, and the bar 24 is provided with an index 49, movable therewith and adapted to cooperate with the, graduations on the disc. The disc may be graduated to indi- L on the bar 52.

4 cate needle lengths in inches and fractions thereof so that if a plurality of one inch needles is to be ground, the needle-holding bosses will be correctly positioned to hold the needles tangent to the abrasive element 6 if the index 49 is placed in registration with the one inch graduation on the disc 48 by loosening the knurled nut 26, turning the bar 24 until the index 49 is in registration with the one inch graduation on the disc 48, and thereafter clamping it in this position by tightening the knurled nut 26.

In operation, the needles which are to be sharpened may be segregated in groups of six, or multiples of six, of approximately the same length, which may be done by passing the needles through a stop and go gauge. Six of the needles are then pressed down firmly on the needle-holding bosses, the motor is started, and the needles held against the stone and oscillated back and forth across the stone by means of the handle 45.

To remove the needles after the sharpening is completed, the finger lever 49 is depressed thus raising the bar 32 which, in turn, raises the pins 36 and forces the needles upwardly out of firm contact with the respective bosses so that they may be readily lifted therefrom.

While it is desirablethat most needles be hollow ground as described above, many physicians prefer that the needles which are used for spinal injections and the withdrawal of spinal fluids be ground to a'plane beveled point. In order to grind them in this way,'we provide the attachment shown in Figs. 7 to 10 inclusive, of the drawings.

Referring particularly to these figures, 6 is the abrasive element mounted on the shaft 1 rotatively supported in the bearings 5 which are secured to the top of the base by means of the cap screws 4, all as described above. Secured to the side of one of the bearings 5 by means of screws 50 is a block 5| within which the rectangular bar 52 is slidably mounted to move to the right and left as viewed in Fig. 8, and, in order manually to effect this movement, a handle 53 is provided A stop pin 54 is also provided on the bar 52 to limit the distance towhic h it may be pulled to the left as viewed in Fig. 8. At the front, the bar 52 is preferably bent towards the abrasiveelement at an angle of about 45, as shown in Fig. 7, to bring the front end thereof in fairly close proximity to the plane end 55 of the abrasive element. At the end adjacent the abrasive element the bar 52 is provided with a vertical passage 56 for the stud 51. At the top and coaxial with the passage 56, the bar 52 is provided with a frusto-conical depression 58 which is complementary to the frusto-conical end 59 on the sleeve 66. The upper end of the stud 51 is enlarged, as shown at 6|, to fit slidably within the sleeve 60, and, to limit the downward movement of the stud 51 in the sleeve 66, a pin 62 extends diametrically therethrough and rests in slots 63 in the sleeve which are open at the top (see Figs. '7 and 8). Passages 64 in the sleeve, which may be aligned with a passage 65 in the top of the stud 51, are provided for passing a needle 66 therethrough. In' order to secure the needle firmly when in grinding position the bottom of the stud 51 is threaded, as shown at 61, and a knurled nut 68 cooperates therewith and with the bottom of the bar 52 to clamp the needle in place.

As shown in the drawing, the axis of the needle is disposed at an angle of 45 to the plane of the end 55 of the abrasive element 6 so that, as illustrated, the point of the needle will be'ground to 45 bevel. Since it may be desirable in some larly-spacing the slots apart, needles may be ground either to a bevel of 45, or 15. The needle holding means may .be set to grind at the desired bevel by merely loosening the knurled nut 68, raising thesleeve 60 so that the lug it is withdrawn from the slot in-which it is positioned whereupon the sleeve may be turned and the lug Hi placed in cooperation with the proper slot and secured therein with the needle at the proper angle by tightening the knurled nut 68. Moving the bar 52 back and forth by means of the handle 53 will prevent the needles from wearing grooves in the end of the abrasive element.

While we have described our invention, in its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the words which we have used are words of description rather than of limitation and that changes, within the purview of the appended claims, may be made without departing from the true scope and spirit of our invention in its broader aspects.

What we claim is:

l. A device for sharpening hollow surgical needles comprising a cylindrical abrasive element, means for rotating said element, a needle holder comprising an elongated bar provided with a plurality of spaced, needle-holding means each adapted frictionally to engage a-needle and to holdthe same in sharpening relation to said element, a mounting for said bar adapting it to swing towards and away from said element and to oscillate in a path parallel to the axis of said element, means for efiecting such swinging and oscillating movements, and means for simultaneously eiiecting a disengagement of said needles from said needle-holding means.

2. A device for sharpening hollow surgical needles comprising a cylindrical abrasive element, means for rotating said element, a needle holder comprising an elongated bar provided with a plurality of spaced, needle-holding means thereon each adapted frictionally to engage a needle and to hold the same in sharpening relation to said element, a mounting, including an upwardly extending bracket for supporting said bar adapting it to swing towards and away from said element and to oscillate in a path parallel to the axis of said element, a handle on said mounting for eiiecting such swinging and oscillating movements, and means for simultaneously effecting a disengagement of said needles from said needle-holding means.

3. A device for simultaneously sharpening a plurality of hollow surgical needles comprising an elongated cylindrical abrasive element, means for rotating said element, a needle holder comprising an elongated bar provided with a plurality of spaced, needle-holding means adapted to hold a plurality of needles in sharpening relation to said element, means, including an upwardly extending bracket having outwardly diverging legs, on which said bar is pivotally and slidably mounted in parallel disposed relation to the axis of said abrasive element to swing towards and away from said abrasive element and oscillate in a path parallel to the axis of said element, means, including a lever pivotally connected to said bracket and adapted to be swung vertically and horizontally for effecting such swinging and oscillating movements, and means for simulta- 'neously effecting a disengagement of said needles from said needle-holding means.

5 4. Ina device for simultaneously sharpening a plurality of hollow surgical needles, the combination with an elongated cylindrical abrasive element and means for rotating said element, of means for holding a plurality of needles in 10 sharpening relation to said element, means for adjusting said needle-holding means to hold group'sof needles of various length, means for indicating when said needle-holding means is adjusted to hold needles of a given length in proper sharpening relation to said element, means for clamping said holding means in adjusted positionfmea'ns for effecting a reciprocating movement of said holding means in a path parallel to the axis of said abrasive element, and means for simultaneously effecting a disengagement of said needles from said needle-holding means. in a device for simultaneously sharpening a plurality of holiow surgical needles, the combination with an elongated cylindrical abrasive element and means for rotating said element, a bar positioned parallel to the axis of said element provided with needle-holding means thereon for holding a plurality of needles in sharpening relation to said element, and a mounting for said bar providing revolving movements of said needleholding means and said bar about the axis of the latter, revolving movements of said needleholding means about a second axis parallel to the axis of said abrasive element, and movements parallel to the axis of said abrasive element.

6. A device for simultaneously sharpening a plurality of hollow surgical needles comprising an elongated cylindrical abrasive element, means for rotating said element, a needle holder comprising an elongated bar provided with a plurality of spaced, aligned, frusto-conical bosses laterally projecting therefrom each adapted frictionally to engage a needle and hold the same in sharpening relation to said element, a mounting for said bar adapting it to swing towards and away from said element and to oscillate in a path parallel to the axis of said element, means for simultaneously eiiecting such swinging and oscillating movements, and means for simultaneously efiecting a disengagement of said needles from said needle holder.

7. A device for sharpening hollow surgical needles comprising a cylindrical abrasive element, means for rotating said element, a needle holder comprising an elongated bar provided with a plurality of spaced, aligned, frusto-conical bosses laterally projecting therefrom each adapted frictionally to engage a needle and hold the same in sharpening relation to said element, a threaded shaft mounted in fixed relation to said element, a

mounting for said bar adapted to slide and rotate freely on said shaft, and a handle provided with a toothed portion, pivotally attached to said mounting with said toothed portion engaging the threads on said shaft and cooperating with said shaft and said mounting for simultaneously effecting swinging movements of said bar towards and away from said element and oscillating movements of said bar in a path parallel to the axis of said element.

8. A device for sharpening hollow surgical needles comprising a cylindrical abrasive element, means for rotating said element, a needle holder comprising an elongated bar provided with a plurality of spaced, needle-holding means thereon each adapted frictionally to engage a needle and to hold the same in sharpening relation to said element, a mounting for said bar adapting it to swing towards and away from said element and to oscillate in a path parallel to the axis of said element, a handle on said mounting for efiecting such swinging and oscillating movements, and means for simultaneously effecting a disengagement of said needles from said needle-holding means.

9. A device for simultaneously sharpening a plurality of hollow surgical needles comprising an elongated cylindrical abrasive element, means for rotating said element, a needle holder comprising an elongated bar provided with a plurality of spaced, aligned, frusto-conical bosses laterally projecting therefrom, each adapted frictionall to engage a needle and hold the same in sharpening relation to said element, a mounting for said bar adapting it to swing towards and away from said element and to oscillate in a path parallel to the axis of said element, means for simultaneously effecting such swinging and oscillating movements and.means for simultaneously effecting a disengagement of said needles from said needle holder.

WILLIAM A. MILNER. WILLIAM C. BENNETT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent: 

